28 | AUGUST 17 • 2023
OUR COMMUNITY
T
he fun, easy part of any
relationship can be meeting
each other; the harder part can
be working at it and staying together.
Meet Aaron and Winnie Krieger, a set of
great-grandparents who have shared a
beautiful relationship since age 17.
Both attended Central High in Detroit
and only knew each other peripherally.
In 1951, when they were in 12th grade,
their lockers were near one another’s.
“One day, as Winnie walked by, I asked
her if she was going to the senior play,”
Aaron recalled. “She said, ‘Are you asking
me?’ and I said, ‘Of course!’”
That senior play, The Late Christopher
Bean, was their first date.
“And that’s when we started ‘going
steady,’ as they used to say,” Winnie said.
Eighteen months after they started
dating, while Aaron attended Wayne
State and Winnie worked for the Board
of Education, the couple decided to get
married. They were 19 years old.
“We were just a couple of kids!”
Winnie said, laughing.
Naturally, their parents had
some interesting reactions to this
announcement. “My mother said, ‘It’s
about time!’ but Winnie’s mother said,
‘Are you crazy?’” Aaron said. (It took
a few years until Aaron won over his
concerned mother-in-law, but he did
manage it in the end.)
They got married in August 1953
in the Detroit garden of Winnie’s aunt
and uncle. A short-lived rainstorm
on the wedding day had all the guests
run for cover and made the bride cry,
but officiant Rabbi Jacob Segal of Adat
Shalom said it was a good omen.
They honeymooned in the Catskills.
As Winnie and Aaron raised their
children, Carolyn, Jeffrey and Michael,
they always emphasized and encouraged
kindness.
“I know it must have resonated because
each of our children has demonstrated
this trait in the way they live their
lives,” said a very proud Winnie. They
consider themselves incredibly blessed
to have six grandchildren and five great-
grandchildren.
Over the years, Winnie had climbed
the ranks professionally and was a
supervisor in the 46th District Court
when she retired in 1996. Aaron owns a
business, Aladdin Drapery Company in
Southfield (their motto is “Magic with
Windows”), from which he officially
retired in 2003.
The couple live in Farmington Hills,
except when they escape the Michigan
winter and dash off to Florida, which
they’ve been doing for the past 20 years.
This year, the Kriegers will celebrate
their 70th wedding anniversary on Aug.
16, an impressive feat in and of itself.
Celebrating
70 Years
Together
ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
HOW WE MET
Aaron and
Winnie early
in their
relationship
Aaron and
Winnie
Krieger
The Krieger family: Carolyn,
Winnie, Aaron, Jeff and Michael